Ron Simon IIIA Black town erased by the construction of the Pentagon will be remembered through art in Amazon鈥檚 new in National Landing.听
After over two years of construction, Metropolitan Park is expected to open up in May, along with a 30-foot above-ground well designed by local artist Nekisha Durrett to honor the Black neighborhood of Queen City.听听
The well will be covered in red bricks and will spell out Queen City in large letters through the bricks on the outside.听听
Viewers will be able to walk inside during the daytime and see the 903 green handmade ceramic vessels covering the walls of the monument.听听
In the evening, the door shuts but a glass pane will allow visitors to still see the inside. Etched into the glass will be a brief description of the project.
The construction of Metropolitan Park is part of Amazon鈥檚 first phase of its 10-year commitment to National Landing.听听
Along with the monument, the park will include a 700-person event space and a total of 8,800 square feet of open lawn, according to a Nov. 15, 2021 infographic of the park.听听
The park will include two other pieces of art, one from Spanish artist and another from Canadian artist .听
The three artists were among many others tasked with submitting a proposal of what they wished to add to the park.听听听
Based on those submissions, Amazon chose these three artists.听听
When the opportunity came, the first thing Durrett said she did was Google Black History in Arlington.听听
Queen City 鈥減ops right up,鈥� Durrett said.听
Durrett is no stranger to capturing Black stories in art as her was in the National Portrait Gallery as part of the in 2019. 听
Her piece brings awareness to Black women and girls who have been victimized by racist police violence, a group Durrett said is constantly overlooked.听听
The community of Queen City was destroyed in 1942 to create the cloverleaf highway structure that allowed workers living in D.C. to be able to drive to the Pentagon, according to historian Dr. Nancy Perry in a to the Arlington Historical Society.听
Before its听destruction, Queen City residents were denied running water, sewer pipes, and paved streets by Arlington County, according to Perry.听
Even lacking those necessities, Queen City was said to be a thriving community, according to an article published in the Evening Star on Jan. 26, 1908, with the headline 鈥淣egros solve the problem of peaceful living.鈥�听
鈥淎 spirit closely akin to communalism reigns in (this) town,鈥� the author wrote.听
A total of 903 residents watched the construction of the Pentagon occur from their windows, until February 1942 when they were notified that they had only three weeks to leave their homes for good, according to Perry.
Durrett honors each individual by commissioning professional ceramists to create the 903 handmade ceramic vessels that will be on the inside of the monument.听听听听听
鈥淓very piece is almost like taking up space,鈥� Durrett said.听 鈥淣ot just taking up space for me, but taking up space for people who can’t take up space for themselves.鈥�听
This reality hit home for Durrett. 听
Durrett鈥檚 grandmother was living in Orange County, Virginia as a child when her family was forced to migrate to upstate New York.听听
When evacuated, less than 600 Queen City residents were able to live in the . The rest had no choice but to travel all across the country to find distant relatives that were willing to take them in, according to Claire Burke鈥檚 graduate research at Mary Washington College in 2004. 听
鈥淚 want people to encounter this thing that looks perhaps like something they’ve seen before,鈥� Durrett said. 鈥淧erhaps like something that looks like it’s serving some kind of utilitarian purpose, but that looks kind of jarringly out of place.鈥澨�听
Hannah Murphy, a resident in BridgeStreet apartments right across from the park, thought just that.听听
鈥淚 have no clue what it鈥檚 supposed to be,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting that it鈥檚 going to turn out as an art installation. I would have never thought that.鈥�听
The monument still has a ways to go until it is set to be complete in May.听
In the next coming months, the monument will begin to look a lot different as the red bricks are added.
Durrett decided to use brick to recognize the history of Arlington.听听
Arlington was one of the largest distributors of brick in the U.S. during the time Queen City existed. One of Virginia鈥檚 largest brickyards,was also destroyed along with Queen City and the to build the Pentagon, according to Perry. 听
According to the 1940 census data, 38% of adult men living in Queen City worked at that brickyard.听听
Although Durrett is including history along with the artwork, she doesn鈥檛 want it to come off as a museum exhibit.听
鈥淲hat I’m going for is more of an emotional response,鈥� Durrett said. 鈥淚 am trying to bring forward the history of this little-known community.鈥�听
Durrett does plan to add access points for further information about Queen City to the monument.听听
鈥淚鈥檓 glad Queen City is starting to get the recognition it deserves,鈥� John Stanton, Historical Research Associate for the Center for Local History at Arlington Public Library, said.听
For more information, visit the .听
An Amazon spokesperson was not available for comment.听听
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